Once Upon A Time…

By Larissa Lytwyn

Words of enchantment are abounding at Fraser-Woods Montessori School these days.

Nationally acclaimed storyteller Tom Lee, an educator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Master Teaching Artist with the Connecticut Commission on the Arts, recently began a six-week writer-in-residence position at Fraser-Woods.

Mr Lee will teach students the art of storytelling, said Special Events Coordinator Aileen Hopper. By Parent-Child Night November 6, students’ stories will be on display in conjunction with Fraser-Woods’ book fair.

“We’re very excited,” Ms Hopper said. “By the end of the year, we’re going to perform all the stories we’ve learned in a final project.”

During his opening day at Fraser-Woods September 18, Mr Lee shared a German folk tale about Germany’s famed “dark forest,” the Black Forest. A girl vows to save her friend, who has been changed from a boy into a bird by a witch who dwells in a great stone castle in the center of the Forest. After a girl dreams of a magic flower that can break the spell, she spends a week searching for the flower — and ultimately makes her dream come true. The boy is saved, and the witch is banished forever.

This is an example of world folk-stories, traditional tales of magic and adventure underscored with themes of personal growth and moral values. Other stories Mr Lee likes to tell invoke the Middle Ages — sweeping, adventurous romps through the 13th and 14th centuries.

Other stories, which Mr Lee subheads Ancient Civilizations and Ancient Myth, are drawn from ancient Greek and Egyptian mythology, Inuit and Native American folklore. Traveling abroad in England and Europe, Mr Lee has spent 15 years collecting folk-stories and myths from countries including Russia, Germany, France, Asia, the Americas, Africa, and the Middle East.

Having performed for audiences at museums, secondary schools, universities, and other institutions, he describes his experience at the Metropolitan as an “inexhaustible source of research and discovery.”

Sharing ancient stories with modern audiences, he believes, provides a connector between the present and the past, garnering varied intellectual and emotional responses across age, ethnic, and gender lines.

Mr Lee’s visit, noted Ms Hopper, relates to Fraser-Woods myth and folklore theme this year. His visit marks the first of several Fraser-Woods students can enjoy in the coming weeks; next month the students will begin a weaving project. Other activities include magic shows and an interactive discussion of the Civil War.

For more information about Fraser-Woods Montessori School, call 426-3390. For more information about Mr Lee, visit www.tomleestoryteller.com.